After announcing it would drop making conventional engined motorcycles and only manufacture electric motorcycles (e-bikes) going forward, US motorcycle maker Curtiss – formerly known as Confederate Motorcycles – has come out with the 2019 Curtiss Hades. With an expression of interest price of USD 75,000 (RM308,214) the Hades follows on from the Curtiss Zeus.
Taking its name from the Greek god of the underworld, the Hades is expected to enter production in 2020 after recently meeting its crowd funding goal. The Hades design is striking with the girder fork design favoured by Curtiss featuring prominently.
An electric motor producing the equivalent of 217 hp sits at the bottom of the minimalist frame, which also doubles as the swingarm pivot. Torque for the Hades is rated at 200 Nm, which should make for very interesting take offs as e-bikes produce all their torque from zero rpm.
The battery pack is housed in a bullet shaped enclosure that resides where the engine would normally be in a normal motorcycle and is rated at 399 Volts with a capacity of 16.8 kWh. Claimed to have more capacity than the Zero SR/F and Harley-Davidson Livewire, the Hades electric motor produces more power than both those e-bikes combined.
A rear monoshock is mounted under the frame, actuated by a very long linkage while the front shock absorber for the girder fork sits in front of the headstock. The frame, swingarm and fork on the Curtiss Hades appears to be made of carbon-fibre, but this is yet to be confirmed.
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Bike with a swollen dick
I still don’t see why is an EV bike using electric to power a motor which is connect by chain to drive the rear wheel. Why not use electric to power an electric drive motor within the hub of rear wheel?
Most likely due to weight balance, to keep the heaviest parts like battery and motor in the middle of the frame. So, that EV bike feels like normal bike to ride. Or just for styling purposes.
Unsprung mass?
WOW!! Nice